pjroberge

Answer: it isn't. The first answer is less than $1000

Would taking out the language but keep the dollar amounts as they are ok to all of you? Or do you want me to do the poll over for the first few people that feel slighted. I really was trying to do an honest poll.

Zixar: And your criticism is not merited. It was an honest mistake. I will post an underconstruction notice when I do another poll. There were only a few votes cast when the poll was finished and I went back to vote. I am sorry one was yours. There was no great and secret conspiracy to beat you out of your vote.

Geesh you guys, did you post while I was still writing & editing the thing? I had no idea that anyone posted already. I edit all my postings online. My edits were right after it went up because the edit wasn't even registered. The poll will be followed. I'm sorry that your vote was lost. Write your preferences in a post and it will be added to the tally. And cut me some slack pleassssse. Geesh

Several of you feel that TWI's lawsuit is only about the domain name they want. While I disagree, I am willing to admit that I may be wrong. So, should TWI be allowed to bully me into giving it to them or should they pay a fair price like they have before? TWI, if you are really just interested in the domain name only, prove it by acting in a civil manner. The price will be determined by this poll's answers, fair enough? The e-mail once again is: sale@prowebtechs.com I have edited the first two choices to remove the language that some felt was offensive. The dollar amounts are the same.

Linda: The price tag was the joke. However my point was that TWI didn't even make a counter offer at all. Most people in our society don't pay the asking price marked, but haggle. TWI didn't even write your price is ridiculous, I will give you $____ TWI instead tried to bully me into giving it to them, and when I wouldn't bend over for them, sued. And the idiots could have saved all the hassle that's coming by acting civil.

Has anyone ever had any experience with this alleged part of TWI? Did TWI leaders confront you with information about your internet posting?

Cherished child: Thank you Long gone: I appreciate your link to the trademark office. I have spent dozens of hours there previous to this lawsuit. The quick reference page does not list this category. You would have to do a more thorough job of research by reading the actual statutes. Hint: it is a class of goods and services for electronic/internet news organizations unlike the ones you referenced which I believe are for for print media. Check for yourself as I was not interested in these classes and don't have all the particulars. Long Gone, the last discussion was nice and civil thanks. I appreciate these types of discussions as I formulate my defence. When TWI actually serves me with the lawsuit summons instead of some other person with the same name across the state, I will be able to answer properly. Gee, TWI's attorneys couldn't even get my address right. Well, I am only listed in the phone book, have a valid drivers license, am listed with th VT Secretary of State, all with the correct address. How long would it have taken you to find my address? I am sure you woudn't have taken long. Part of my December response to TWI's attorneys Your claim of unfair competition is also without merit, because the services provided by the website you claim infringed on your client's mark were not "Educational Services-Namely, Providing Religious Teaching Services by Means of Motion Pictures and Slide Presentations and Producing and Presenting Musical, Dramaticomusical, and Dramatic Productions and Presenting Works of Art, Publishing of Periodicals and Booklets of a Religious Nature" as stated in The Way's trademark description. Your client's mark was granted under class 41, and only protects the trademark from infringement by similar organizations, and in the same class. The alleged infringement by Excultworld Magazine, Inc. which has been incorporated for years as a web magazine, a member of the New England Press Association, and not a religious publication, would be listed under a class 38 and or class 42 classification of goods and services as other organizations of similar purpose are. Your claim of of dilution requires that the alleged infringer do so within the same class of goods and services. Since this is not the case, again your legal argument is without merit. Further, even if the alleged infringer was in the same class of goods and services, your argument falls short because there are tens of thousands of religious organizations that use "The Way" in the name of their organization or website, all of which would be infringers by your definition. It could be argued unsuccessfully that a drop of water into a lake would dilute it, which is the situation with your client's trademark. TWI's attorneys never came back with a rebuttal to my legal arguments. They just sued. They were not interested in a peaceful resolution, just being a bully.

golfie: This company cannot be sued because the IC # is 42 which is the class of goods and services that company offers, and TWI's trademark is in class 41 for their goods and services of a religious nature.My use of the domain name TheWayInternational.com was being used in class 38 goods and services, namely news reporting organizations.

A few clarifications: 1) I have a couple of attorneys already. I am not stupid. I will represent myself and do the paperwork as long as I can competently do so to save costs. (I had a trademark attorney respond to the letter posted previously, remember?) 2) TWI threatened me to give them the domain or else. They are the aggressor 3) I put the domain name up for sale with an e-mail address for the sale so that TWI could discretely purchase the domain through an innie and save face 4) TWI made no offer at all. Just threats 5) TWI has implicated my web design business and Ex-Cultworld in this lawsuit. That is why I will not give into them. 6) I know they are copying everything. Again I am not stupid. I want them to know I will not go easy and let them reflect on how costly their harrassment will be to them.

ariel: You have nailed the crux of the matter. TWI is losing members and they are doing their lawsuit purely to silence my efforts. They have no valid trademark issue at all. Kinda interesting that after all this time, they only got the itch to sue me after the Peeler evidentiary hearing was published.

hope: The original name of my "religious" website The Path Of Christ Ministry was The Way Of Christ Ministry(not international. I had done a diligent check with the NH corporations dept, and after learning that TWI had let their name The Way lapse (for years)and after checking with the trademark office, I went ahead with the name registration. I registered the name The Way Of Christ Ministry, because quite frankly in my opinion it did not conflict with TWI's trademark. And if you check with the trademark office, there are several trademarks in the religious category (class 41)that would be infringers by TWI's erroneous interpretation of trademark law. After a few months of the website being up, I received the letter located at the link below from TWI's attorneys. My intellectual property attorney responded to them, and as a precaution, I changed the website name shortly thereafter to its present name. http://www.waychrist.com/1st_twi_letter.htm I then filed a trademark application for The Way Of Christ Ministry because I believed it would be cheaper to have the issue decided by the trademark office instead of litigating it($3-400 versus $10,000+) The trademark office gave preliminary approval for my trademark for religious goods and services in the same class as TWI's trademark. At the last moment of the the process, TWI filed for an extention to file an opposition, and filed another extention and then another. Then TWI filed their opposition, and after spending about $2000, I decided that the trademark was not that important.

socks: It was a joke to make fun of TWI's threats of hand it over or else. And they didn't even make an offer. Too bad, because I sold it to a friend for $1. I was in the process of transferring it to them when the lawsuit hit and the domain registrar locked my access to transfer the domain name to the new owner.

Ginger Tea called me last night to wish me well and offer words of encouragement. After reading some of the posts, it was a needed pick me up. Thanks Ginger Despite the sentiments of a few people, I have every confidence that TWI will lose.There are facts that when revealed will be very enlightening. Did you know that there was a publication called I believe"The Way Magazine" before TWI had theirs? Or about a church named I believe The Way Christian Ministries, and how they were sued by TWI for trademark infringement? When I dig the documents out of storage, they will posted for all to see. You won't believe what happened....

Mark: Answer: They did get a trademark for religious goods and services (class 41), and copyrights for the little round way symbol, way corps etc. The trademark ("The Way") in the opinion of many is not defenseable because it has become so generic in the religious field, and TWI has no way to enforce it. Perhaps thousands of churches today use this phrase in their name. ex-way daryl: I am not absolutely sure, but I think any organization can as you yourself observed.

long gone: Apparently your desire is not to have a civil discussion about the issues, but to instead demean and ridicule me any chance you get. Why don't you go back to your TWI handlers. You are obviously an attorney or paralegal working for them who is attempting to discourage me. If you aren't then start acting in a civil manner or stay away. You aren't contributing anything that is of any benefit to those discussiong this case.

long gone: One part of this puzzle you probably don't know about or you do,is that TWI's own attorneys may have realized that "The Way" by itself is indefensable. They have registerd "The Way Of Abundance and Power", "The Way Corps", "The Way Magazine", and many others. If their original mark "The Way" could be defended, why were all the other derivatives registered? My trademark attorney who sent them the letter reproduced on the Path of Christ website is one of the best in NH and has argued and won trademark cases for some very large companies all the way up through the US Supreme court. He said that The Way Of Christ Ministry was not an infringing mark, and filed the trademark application for me.

long gone: You are correct and I know this. But that doesn't mean that they can't be asked anyway or saved for another lawsuit.... I asked a question in an interrogatory that I sent to the plaintff in a case. Because we were not limited to 25 interrogatories including subsections as with Federal Rules of Discovery, I went ahead with the extra question knowing I hadn't wasted part of the limit. I asked something to the effect of:is there any other information you haven't disclosed that we should know about that is important for us to know? Surprisingly, they answered and gave me information that I didn't know about. You don't ask, you don't have a chance of getting......

My reply to TWI's demand letter of December: Patrick Roberge P.O. Box 305 Hinesburg, VT. 05461 Eric Steiner Baker & Hostetler 333 South Grand Avenue Suite 1800 Los Angeles, California. 90071-1523 December 30, 2003 Dear Mr. Steiner, I received your letter forwarded from my previous address, and have reviewed your claims of alleged copyright infringement for the mark "The Way" registration number 1,155,904. The previous discussion that I had with your office regarding this mark was in refernce to a trademark opposition that your office filed on the proposed mark "The Way Of Christ Ministry", a religious website personally owned by me, unlike Ex-Cultworld Magazine, Inc. of which I am but one of the editors and contributors. This mark had preliminary approval, because the Trademark Office had found no conflicting marks, your client's included. It is only in your making the process too expensive and cumbersome at the time that you were successful in your attempt to have me withdraw the application. Your legal arguments were lacking then as they are in your current correspondence. Your claims of trading on your client's goodwill and reputation and causing confusion are without merit. The page in question clearly stated that it was not The Way International website, and gave the reader the option of going to The Way International's website via a link provided, or to go to a source of information about The Way International. I cannot see how anyone could be confused about the very clear wording. Also, the only people allowed to purchase materials from The Way International are their members who know full well that this site is not their official site. And there can be no confusion with the general public as they are prohibited from puchasing materials without being active participants in the group. Your claim of unfair competition is also without merit, because the services provided by the website you claim infringed on your client's mark were not "Educational Services-Namely, Providing Religious Teaching Services by Means of Motion Pictures and Slide Presentations and Producing and Presenting Musical, Dramaticomusical, and Dramatic Productions and Presenting Works of Art, Publishing of Periodicals and Booklets of a Religious Nature" as stated in The Way's trademark description. Your client's mark was granted under class 41, and only protects the trademark from infringement by similar organizations, and in the same class. The alleged infringement by Excultworld Magazine, Inc. which has been incorporated for years as a web magazine, a member of the New England Press Association, and not a religious publication, would be listed under a class 38 and or class 42 classification of goods and services as other organizations of similar purpose are. Your claim of of dilution requires that the alleged infringer do so within the same class of goods and services. Since this is not the case, again your legal argument is without merit. Further, even if the alleged infringer was in the same class of goods and services, your argument falls short because there are tens of thousands of religious organizations that use "The Way" in the name of their organization or website, all of which would be infringers by your definition. It could be argued unsuccessfully that a drop of water into a lake would dilute it, which is the situation with your client's trademark. Further, if you were to do an internet search of all businesses using the phrase "The Way" in the name of their organization, according to Google, they number well over a million. Your client's mark "The Way" is already so diluted, that it lacks any uniqueness whatsoever, and even your client has acknowledged this reality by registering derivitive marks like the Way Magazine, The Way Corps etc. Further, your claim that all derivatives that use "The Way" as part of their mark are infringers is again without legal foundation. And to be clear on this issue, your allegation that thewayinternational.com is covered by The Way's copyright is again without merit, as well as The Way International. Your client's mark was granted for the specific wording "The Way" without any additions or subtractions, derivatives etc. Again, your firm already knows this and so does your client. Why would there be registrations of the derivatives of "The Way" like "The Way Corps" , "The Way Magazine", "The Way of Abundance and Power" etc. if your client's mark "The Way" covered the derivatives? The answer is that it does not as even acknowledged by your client themselves, and their legal counsel who registered the derivative marks. Your last claim of cybersquatting under the Latham Act is again without merit. Sec. 1125 clearly states: (4) the following shall not be actionable under this section: (A) Fair use of a famous mark by another person in comparative commercial advertising or promotion to identify the competing goods or services of the owner of the famous mark. © All forms of news reporting and news commentary. Again, even if the alleged infringement were in the same class of goods and services as your client's, they would be competing products. Your claim of willful infringement is hereby not only denied, but refuted as being without any legal foundation. Further, the true purpose of your correspondence is continued harrassment. Your client seems to feel that they can harrass or intimidate anyone who uses the phrase "The Way" they don't like. In fact, your client has staff whose sole purpose is to monitor ex-members and keep records of their activities. These facts prove an intent to harrass, as well as your intentional misrepresentation of The Way International's rights under the trademark laws. Further, with so many religious organizations allegedly infringing on your clien's mark, the lack of vigorous defense of your client's mark evenly across the board shows that your client recognizes the futility of the task because there is so much dilution. This begs the question of why your client selectively targets for "enforcement" people who had a past relationship with their group.This rings very much of harrassment towards ex-members. Your client's abuse of the trademark laws for harrassment is noted, and if you wish to pursue this matter further, my first action will be to file a petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for cancellation of your client's mark. There are several grounds upon which this could be successfully accomplished. I also think they would like to know about the deception foisted upon them in The Way International's original trademark application. If I do not hear from you within 10 days of receipt of this letter that your client will cease and desist all harrassment, I will assume that you wish to pursue the matter. At which time, I will go ahead and file a petition to cancel with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Sincerely Yours, Patrick Roberge

Long Gone: Your points are well taken and I will be more precise in my wording and using trademark/copyright correctly in the future. I withdrew the trademark application because TWI was making a $300 trademark application too costly, and then to further harrass me, wanted to depose me for several days over the trademark issue in the middle of the summer semester of school. I had also run up $2000 in attorney fees and it was not that important an issue to have the trademark. Regarding the domain name, again, if TWI had made a reasonable, business like offer versus sicking their attorneys on me and demanding the domain name, they would have had the domain name. However, TWI would have still found a pretense (in my opinion) to sue me on other grounds like the ones in this lawsuit. When I get a copy of the complaint that is more readable than the fax I got from the court, I will put it up for all to see. I will also shortly put up TWI's demand letter and my response to it from December. By the way, TWI's grounds for infringement are based on my using the domain name and trademark for advertising religious goods and services (class 41). Unfortunatly, they have no legal standing at all outside of the class of goods and services their trademark gives protection for. And TWI's class of goods and services (class 41)is a different class from my use (class 38)alleged to have infringed on The Way trademark.

tom: No, I am going to bat versus caving into their demands because I refuse to let TWI intimidate or bully me anymore.

No Way: My point exactly. TWI is doing this purely to harrass an ex-member (me). There is no real issue of copyright infringement. See the letter when they harrassed me before.Proof: (I have already dealt with this before) http://www.waychrist.com/1st_twi_letter.htm

Long Gone: This thread is about the lawsuit contest, not the lawsuit. You have posted your criticisms of me on the lawsuit thread and now you come to this thread to post the same criticisms. Why is that?

Proof: (I have already dealt with this before)http://www.waychrist.com/1st_twi_letter.htm I then changed the website name to "The Path Of Christ Ministry" (several years ago) after this letter from TWI until I received the trademark approval. During my application for a trademark for "The Way Of Christ Ministry",and after receiving preliminary approval (because the trademark office did not find any conflicting marks including TWI's), TWI continued their harrassment anyway. TWI filed a dispute over the trademark application, and made the $300 trademark so costly with their legal manuverings, that I withdrew my application for the trademark. (This was discussed on waydale) TWI in this current lawsuit brings up the old website name as being a part of their proof of infringement.

Long Gone: Apparently you really don't inderstand or read what has been posted. Your last post does not appear to be a contest entry, nor is your claim of self aggrandizement based on any factual basis. Also, the lawsuit is about alleged copyright infringement with a small part being the domain name.